Seasons Change and So Do I
Welcome ta Fall, mates! Well, nearly there. I was thinkin’ a decoratin’ the ship with pumpkins and autumn leaves scattered about, hang up some flickerin’ lamps and invite some black cats aboard. After all, what is fall without the advent a’ Halloween!
But Hel said flickerin’ lamps be a fire hazard. And Terrio vetoed the leaves, sayin’ we’d have ta buy a rake. (Personally, I thought the romantically inspired pirates would like a rake or two aboard… *g) Sin were all fer the black cats, said the undead monkey was gettin’ hungry. Santa thought the pumpkins were a fine idea and muttered somethin’ about pies…
Marnee didn’t like me idea a fake spiderwebs, said they might attract the real sort. Hal vetoed me quoting Edgar Allen Poe or invitin’ ravens on board cause a’ the mess. Lisa felt the faked bloody bandages were too over the top.
Sigh.
That’s all right by me. I can get along with jus’ the feelin’ in the air right now. Ever notice how the air changes as autumn slides inta the skin? It ain’t jus’ the anticipation a’ trick or treat and bags a’ candy. Or the spices of pumpkin pie floatin’ on the air outta Santa’s kitchen…or the knowledge that December be next on the calendar.
Autumn, fer me, is about longin’ ta rest and gathering the harvest a’ the year behind me. It be about harboring energy and preparin’ fer the long nights a’ tellin’ stories around the campfire while the winter roars outside. I love the way the light changes as the sun slides lower on the horizon. The smell a’ the first rain (granted, lots a’ ya known rain all year, but not here in California.) We don’t get hillsides full a bright fall leaves. We get a tree, here and there, that surprises up with a blast of orange or red.
I walk down ta the bluff and look out on the Pacific and it be all steel grey, pelicans keepin’ low…
There be a sense a’ anticipation in the autumn. I’m not a great fan a’ the major holidays a’ the year. They go ‘gainst me grain. We should be huddled before a fire, tellin’ tall tales and sharin’ brisk nights wit’ loved ones. Not runnin’ about tryin’ to find the perfect gift fer the new great niece/nephew who won’t even care about who I am or what I send.
So, seasons change and I find meself thinkin’ ahead ta the next year and behind ta the last year. Gatherin’ all the great things I learned and considerin’ how ta weave them inta me tales, told before the great fire. Tellin’ stories about where I been and where I be goin’. More than any other time a’ the year, this be the time a’ Sleepy Hollow and Headless Horseman, the closin’ of doors and the openin’ a the imagination. Ghost stories on cold nights. Tim Burton.
We be mammals, despite all our battles ta be more. And hibernation be buried in our DNA. Ta dream deep dreams and incorporate what got away, what we caught, what tasted best, what nearly killed us.
So, I went ta Nationals. I met Terrio, J Perry, Santa and others. I laughed, I stuck foot in mouth at least once. I went ta RT and pitched ta Tor, Kensington, Sourcebooks and Crescent Moon. I took a class at RT that made me angry and I wrote a letter ‘bout why…got me nowhere, but I had ta write it. I may pay fer it come next April.
I stayed away from home and took care a’ me Mum fer three weeks. My DH lost his job and got another one. I got a dog. I gained weight…(sigh.)
And were invited ta be a blogger on the Revenge…(yippee!)
So much stuff ta wind inta me winter tales. I anticipate fall more than I do spring. I plot and plan in the fall. I reflect and recall. And I write. More than any other season, this be mine. I even clean me house in the fall. And fix up the yard. Spring is not my active season…
*shrugs
Favorite Harry Potter movie? The one where the tree reflected the change of seasons and the passage a’ time. Evocative, loverly. Poignant. Love the bits in Practical Magic that show the seasons are changin’… They plant, they harvest, burning leaf pile… Sigh.
As fer me changing. I be in constant flux. I were inspired by several a’ our guests this year. I want ta get the fun back inta me writin’…stop strivin’ fer anything more than entertainment when I write. Ta tell me tales around the fire with a gleam in my eye, tossin’ in the occasional “Bwah ha ha!”
I’m not givin’ up on bein’ published, but I’m open ta what the wind might blow me way. Including some new ideas. Anyone heard a podcasting?
Do ya see change in yerself from this last year? Ya plant any seeds that are bearin’ fruit? Have ta fight off pests too much? (The Kraken is still behind the ship…he loves pests!) Any new discoveries that yer cradlin’ ta yer chest as the wheel a’ the year turns? Any favorite uses of seasonal changes ya see in the cinema or books?
More than spring, fer me, Fall is the season of anticipation. I have no idea why, but I swing with it.
And remember! Tomorrow be International Talk Like A Pirate Day! Arrrrr ta ya!
Books by the Crew
82 comments:
Chance, I do believe you are a romantic!
We are all sensitive to the changing seasons
and the poets among us do capture the feelings!
The ancient mystics revelled in the cosmic dance
And Feynman the genius discovered the path.
As the Mayan calender comes to a close
I sense a new beginning, emerging from the old.
A greater spirituality will enter our world
A holographic vision of reality will unfold.
The science of tomorrow and the mystics of old.
Will form an alliance that will glitter like gold.
The autumn colours be apearin right now
as the evenings get shorter and the dreams get longer
I wish you well in your search as you ponder!
Chance, If you had Shakespeare's lingo you would be a sensation .... me too! *grin*
So hard to follow poetry...
Fall is my favorite time of the year. I have an October birthday, love the crunch of falling leaves, sweater-weather, the smell of woodsmoke in the air. After umpty-ump years, I'm still on a school calendar schedule, so autumn is the beginning of stuff, not the end.I guess if I'm honest I'm in the autumn of my life too---but I'm going into winter kicking and screaming. ;)I've had a tremendously lucky year, and hope to have lots more of them.
Fall was never my favorite season because it marked the approach of winter and I hate winter. I hate being cold, I hate snow, and I hate the gray dreary days that never seem to go away.
But, be it age or mellowing or both, I like fall more now. My kiddo goes back to school which makes her happy. I can walk out of my house without instantly sweating. And I have always loved the wind in my face, autumn is great for that.
This year I finished my degree. The harvest hasn't come in yet, but I'll find out in November how much more hay this will bring me. Could be good, could not make much difference, I'll have to wait and see.
For me, the coming year is going to be a big one. Do I change jobs? Change states? Finish one book? Finish two?! Yes, this next year should be quite interesting.
Chance, lovely blog! :) I too love the mysterious anticipation of fall. That kind of spooky feeling of anything can happen. It's perfect atmosphere for writing a ghost story. Hmmm, what do you know, that's what I'm working on.
Changes. Yes, the past year has had many changes. At this time last year I wasn't looking forward to the coming year. I dreaded it. I tried to wish it away, but still it came. It was a good thing I didn't get my wish. I did finish my first book this spring.
This year, while much is still precarious, I'm somehow excited. Like Terri, I think it's going to be a big one. And a huge congratulations to you on finishing your degree! That is so awesome!
Thank you, Melissa. I'm trying not to think about the student loans looming out in front of me. LOL! And congrats again on finishing that first book. I can't wait until I can say that. *sigh*
Fall has never been a favorite of mine. Fall meant back to school and since I hated school with every fiber of my being it was hard for me to embrace the season. Which really stinks cause my birthday is in September and I could never really work up the proper amount of excitement for that either due to the whole school thing.
As I got older Fall meant Winter wasn't far off with the accompanying cold, snow, frost and freezing temperatures. I'm not a fan of Winter. I like to be warm. So unfortunately Fall never got a break in my little world. I do, however, appreciate a brisk Fall day with the changing colors of the leaves and coming inside to the smell of wood burning in the fireplace. It does have it's good points and the older I get the more I see that.
This past year has been good - avoided a few catastrophies, learned to stop and smell the roses a little more often than not. Tried to spend as much quality time with our kids as possible. I can't believe in 5 years they'll both be off at college.
This next year looks to be even better... trying to concentrate on family (immediate and extended). Siblings moving back to help out with ailing parents. That's always a plus. I'm going to work on some quality/fun time for me... I definitely see a spa weekend in my future!
Fall is like the carnation to me: it signals Death. I don't like it. Also, I take 2 allergy medicines year round just so I can breathe and not be a snotty, red-eyed mess--and Fall still screws with me. All the mold, I guess.
Nothing is better than spring or early June when the trees have bushed out in green. I love the green. New growth, new life, rebirth and hope.
Fall is the complete opposite to me. It's the "let's go to the old folks home so we can die already" time of year.
Changes this year? Not a whole a lot. I did get my own apartment. I've been writing more consistently again (when I've been inconsistently writing for about 2 years.) I haven't been going to yoga nearly as often as I should--and I can tell in my flexibility and attitude. *shrugs*
Fall meant back to school and since I hated school with every fiber of my being it was hard for me to embrace the season.
AMEN sister!
Fall is my favorite time of year hands down.
There's a crispness and vitality in the air that energizes and renews my soul.
Fall speaks to me of the shedding of old troubles and angst to make room for new experiences and memories. You have to shed those old worries holding you back to make way for the growth and budding of new dreams and goals.
I adore fall and wish I could harness it's affect on me year-round.
Q - Indulge in the birthday scotch a bit, eh? ;) A scientific twist on the dawning of Aquarius... Read a great op piece by Feynman recently...
Maggie - I loved school, so goin' back ta school was always fun. Wanderin' the stores lookin' at the new folders... Though, lord love a duck, nothing like what they have available nowadays!
Winter is hard fer me...and I don't know anythin' but California winters. I try ta welcome the rain and keep a fire lit. I know what ya mean about the winter a' yer life. I'm on the cusp a' that meself... I'm not really fightin' it, but I want ta choose how I take that ride... Fit, frisky and full a' piratitude!
Terrio - This be the year ya finish yer first book. Ya meet more interestin' people, take the RWA by storm and I would like ta predict ya get some summer time with yer kid...
So, what's the munchkin want ta do fer Halloween? ;)
Melissa - Congrats on the first book! And now yer writin' a ghost story... Mmmmmm! Aye, this be the time a' the year when the veil thins between the worlds...ghosts, spirits, hauntings move easily inta this world.
Me Dad would a' been 80 this year and I hope ta feel him around me as the days shorten.
Great time ta write a ghost story. I've got one nibblin' at the back a' me head.
The story, not the ghost...
Irish - Spa day. Sigh. Take me wit' ya?
Hellie - Allergies truly be the devil's hammer. Been a sufferer forever. I truly jus' live wit' 'em anymore. Jus' don't like feelin' medicated... But I know yer pain.
But that scene in Harry Potter, with the tree...the symbolism was devine. If'n ya can't find the reality soothin'...then the fiction be nice!
And it sounds like ya had a reflective year! Moving, writing...
Writers often use winter and spring in books as a pivot point...don't often see Autumn. It ain't so obvious wit' it's magic...
That was the one highlight of having to go back to school: new folders, pencils, and notebook paper. I loved getting new Mead notebooks. Hell, I still do. I get giddy having a fresh notebook and a .05 fine point pencil.
I used up all my loose leaf paper in 4th grade (during Math) to draw horses. I got written up and everything. Got a lecture about how much it cost to buy more loose leaf paper--and that I needed to draw on BOTH sides of the paper if I was going to waste it with drawing. (My perfectionism was clear even then. If I made a mistake on any part of the horse, I crumbled up that paper and moved to the next one. *LOL*)
Sabrina - I likes yer vision a' sheddin' the old ta prepare fer the new.
That be so true. I do find meself reflectin' on the year past, all those mistakes swept away. Also, all those good things...inta the compost heap ta sweeten the next year.
Doesn't SEP have some autumn set books? I mean she writes about those football players...it's gotta be a given right?
What a vision! Drawing horses in 4th grade. I always wished I could draw...sigh. Had a best friend who was a phenom with drawing.
I love the lectures 'bout using both sides a' the paper...
Didn't have much selection when I was in school. Mostly the tan peechee types until I were in high school, when the nature photo types began to show up...
Me Dad used ta bring home these wonderful pencils from work. Blackfeet Indian Pencil Company. The softest, nicest pencils on the planet. I still adore a good pencil.
Pens intimidate me.
Seems ta me, autumn set books be perfect fer the herions movin' inta the more mature part a' her life. Perfect segue inta sheddin' old, movin' with grace inta the new...
Yeah, that's one of my more vivid memories. That and the teeter totter episode.
I just remember one of the adults--either my mother or the teacher (I can't remember the setting of the particular lecture, if I was at school or home to be sure)--and them pointing at a horse hoof on the paper. "But this is all you drew on this sheet. You could have used other parts of the paper."
I remember thinking: They don't understand drawing at all. The hoof was all wrong, absolutely incorrect and not at all how I pictured a horse hoof, etc. How could I possibly continue with the drawing when the hoof was all wrong?
Even then I hated revision.
I don't think of setting in books in those terms. Not with typical romances anyway. For instance I don't read Regency novels where they're going to all these romps in February or March, thinking, "Winter is dying away, like their childhood, and soon they will be married and embarking in the Spring of their new life."
Sometimes Fall is just Fall.
I like Sabrina's take on it. I'm going with that.
And I think of Women's Fiction books when I think of a fall setting. Huh. Though yes, the football season would clearly be in fall, so you're right about SEP.
Historicals are more apt to use winter and the "Oh no, we're snowbound in an Inn in the middle of no where. Propriety be damned, we must have sex to stay warm."
LOL!
“Winter is dying away, like their childhood, and soon they will be married and embarking in the Spring of their new life.”
Ah, Hellie, you are such a romantic!
Geez, I hope no one would actually be so - ahem - dryly forward. What's the word? It isn't sex, but it reeks of purple prose. Being beat over the head with what should be subtle???
I would hope an author would be more gentle with the metaphor!
Though, Terrio - Doesn't it sound a bit like a writing challenge?
5oo words using all four seasons...Start with one and move through chronologically.
Terrio - I've read of winter used that way! "Oh, blast! I've left me muff in the house. Jeremy? Will you hold my hands, they're cold..."
wink, wink, nudge, nudge
I assure you, as a writer, I don't use the seasons in this manner. And I doubt the majority of other writers I read do either.
It's more likely authors use weather instead of the actual seasons. My story floats from spring into summer, but there's no real significance there. I used it because I need the holidays in that time period.
But I can see the seasons signifying changes and progressions in relationships. Sure, why not.
Challenge, huh? I'll think about it. I was in a "piss off work today" mood this morning, but so far, the work isn't going away.
Ain't that the truth about how 'pissin' off work today' works? If only the work got the message and pissed off!
I only use seasons in my writing for clothing options. LOL
Autumn is my favorite season. I love everything about it, regardless of my allergies. Fall colors, fall smells, fall activities. Woodsmoke and hay rides and festivals. I love it all.
No changes this year. Just maintaining. Maybe next year will be a different story. I suppose I will just have to see.
Oh, I know the symbolism exists. I didn't miss that day in English class, but even then I thought it was a bit too much for the majority of commercial writers to be thinking of the symbolism of the seasons in their writing. Occasionally sure. But not all the time.
I do like how weather can effect setting in novels, commercial or otherwise. Nothing like a thunderstorm to have sex.
Sin - Think a' tellin' yerself stories this winter. Jus' tellin' them and seein' where that takes ya.
Glad yer on the hayride wit' me!
When ya say the majority of commercial writers thinking of symbolism...etc... Are you seeing this?
I'm certainly not proposing this should be done. And Terrio is right, I think I've seen it used more in women's fiction.
The romance of taking a walk wit' yer honey on a path strewn with autumn leaves crunchin' under the feat. The light shinin' through those still clingin' ta the limbs...a crispness just enough ta want ta hold hands or cuddle with linked arms. Sigh.
Softer than winter, I think autumn is under utilized. Though I know there be anthologies featuring Christmas, Valentines Day, New Years...Halloween, that be true.
There is so much mischief to be had on a hayride. LOL
That would be a fun anthology!
I could create a new drink...Hellion's Hayride, in honor a' her allergies... Though maybe the Hidden Hayride Happiness...
Always loved the ones that were in the dark... Much happiness!
That paints a pretty picture, Chance. And I do think the other seasons are used more often. I've always thought of spring and fall as transition seasons, with summer and winter being the main ones.
Though the colors of fall are beautiful, it feels like it's too short because once everything is dead, it stays dead and gloomy for months. But once everything blooms and turns green in the spring, they stay green longer. I don't know, just a different way of looking at it.
I do know we're having gorgeous temps here for about two weeks and I'll take 'em without complaint.
Terrio - I think CA has it differently. Our summers are so dusty and summer rain is so rare. When fall starts to cool things off and then the first bits of rain hit... We get a bit of a green bloom on the hillsides, and all the dust is washed away. So even if the hillside shrubs begin to look a bit sparse, things shine with being clean.
So, there is a freshness to the eye.
See, you see Fall from a Cali POV. I'm thinking that is a much better view than in my neck of the woods. Though here in Va Beach, it doesn't get real cold until after Christmas and even then it doesn't snow. One of the many reasons I love it here.
There's a place here that offers Haunted Hayrides. Kiddo and I did it last year. She handled the hayride better than the little cemetary scene. We had to leave that one less than 6' in and I almost cold cocked a stupid chit in an ugly costume for getting in kiddo's face when it was clear she was already petrified.
I like the Hellie Hayride idea. It could come with a side of Clariton. LOL!
Hello Crew! I decided to come aboard and visit. No I did not bring the royal kitty today, monkey!
Hmmm , at first I was thinking this seemed like a serious subject, until Terrio's comment about snowstorms and sex! YES! Maybe there is hope for dreaded Minnesota winters! LOL! I like the idea lady!
I love summer, so I tolerate fall, but I dread winter, unless I am traveling with my husband somewhere warm.
I do have a sense of renewal in the fall, when school is back in session, I feel like ok, time to get busy again. But yes like many of you this year has been a year full of promises and challenges. Most importantly a year were forward progress was made and still being made as far as my writing career. A year filled with new friends and new adventures, so I would say YES! I am happy right now and thats a great feeling and great place to be! Have a wonderful weekend!!! Lady Jane
Fall for me means wheezing, sneezing, and hives. Like Hellie, I take several allergy medicines all year. Fall is the time of year I curse all farmers who rot their crops, it should be outlawed really.
Fall is sugar and spices. Apples dipped in caramel. And homemade pumpkin seeds.
The past year was a change for me too. As scared as I was I got on a plane and flew to DC. Hubs and I made it through our first year of business, and I didn't leave him. *grins* Sewing and I don't get along. Don't ev'r ask me to darn yer socks, that'll get ye thrown overboard fer sure. ;)
I'm also excited about the coming months, I'm almost done with revisions on my current manuscript, which I'm terribly excited about, then it is off to at least one editor and one agent after full request at nationals. Then I need to finish my second manuscript which I'm loving and the first draft is much, much cleaner than any draft I've ever written(guess you could say I've learned how to write cleaner) then it too is off to two editors and one agent. Funny thing about this ms, I didn't intend to pitch it, but when I got my choices there weren't very many left, so I thought hey why not. Any way the agent had already seen the first chapter through something she'd done on her blog, which I will say she had said she just wanted to see what we were working on. Any way, she requested then, at Nationals she asked how close I was to finishing and she still wants it. The editors, well, I was told Westerns were dead, but I pitched any way and they requested. Hope to have it done by the end of October.
More than you all wanted to know.
I look forward to meeting and gaining new lifelong friends through my writing circles. I look forward to cheering on those of you here on the ship and those at Romance Roundtable as we make our journey to publication. I look forward to another year with my, nieces, my kids and hubs.
Terri, let me also say congratulations on your degree. I really wished I could have helped you celebrate at DC.
And I'm stuttering! Interesting!
We have this haunted train ride into an ancient redwood grove in the mountains...thinking about doing it this year. Or the Halloween Party held at the Monterey Bay Aquarium...
Eating seafood while next to the fish...something very haunting about that... ;)
"...no! She's eating cousin Harry!"
Jane-o, glad ta see ya aboard! I still be hopin' yer DH gets that job in CA... No harsh MN winters here!
Here's ta hearin' back from agents and editors wit' news that will bring the spring in wit' a real roar!
Renee - Ya been busy! And it all sounds wonderful. I'm not familiar with farmers leavin' crops ta rot, that sounds terribly wasteful. Lessen it be about feedin' the soil?
That be an interesting analogy fer writin'...let the old worlds rot and nourish the new???
Nah.
Spring will be full a' possibilities!
I wish you could have been there too, Renee. But at least we got to hang out a bit. You and Mo were the highlight of my week. And hanging with Leslie. Can't forget the Assassin.
I fixed your stutterin' there, Chance. Wordpress is being ornery today, I see.
Huzzah for requests and polished MSs and for Jano-O being back aboard and moving ahead!
Chance, it's all for feed for cattle, which definitely seems like a waste. We live in a neighborhood outside of town and we're surrounded by rotting corn fields. The damnable thing it's been too wet this season and they won't cut until the green is all gone, which makes it a longer allergy season for me. Grrrrr, stupid farmers. ;) I know they're just doing their jobs, but damn it matey, can't they do it elsewhere?
Oh, and Ter, if you move states you could always move to Kansas. *grins* I feel all alone out here. The closest chapter is an hour and a half. I belong to a local writer's group, but they aren't romance focused.
Ouch! Does sounds messy. Rotting corn. Also sounds really Tim Burton-ish.
Fall is my favorite season too. I love spring, and it is certainly the most beautiful season in the South. But spring makes me dreamy; fall energizes me. I always think anything is possible in October. No skies are the exact color of October blue. Yellow and gold and orange and red leaves against those skies make a line from Edna St. Vincent Millay sing in my head: "Oh, world, I cannot hold thee close enough."
I didn't set out to use seasonal symbolism in TLWH. But I think subconsciously I knew I was doing exactly that. By the time I was working on revisions, I was aware of the significance of beginning a story about the rebirth of a relationship in the spring after a winter of death and injury and of ending it in December during a celebration of birth.
Renee - It's much more likely I'll head back to Nashville. Call me crazy, and I do like you a lot, but Kansas just doesn't sound appealing to me. LOL!
I had to explain to my kiddo as much as I love her and would take a bullet for her, I will NOT move back to AR for her. Nashville is my way of compromising.
But it's all still up in the air!
Janga - That reminds me. Have you seen Terri Clark's new CD? It's called The Long Way Home. From what I've read, it's some of the best stuff she's ever written.
Janga - You nailed it on the head. The color of Autumn skies is uncanny. And the ocean? Steel pearls...
Your line of poetry is sublime. I'm gonna save that one.
Terrio - I gots two old friends living in Tennessee... One in Clarskville, one in Nashville. My artsty psychic friend in Clarksville, my country music fan is in Nashville.
I so look forward to next years RWA!
I lived in Nashville back in the mid 90s. Got married there, in fact. The RWA thing could become an issue since if this moves actually happens, I might need that conference fee to put toward the relocation. As I said, lots of things up in the air.
I'm glad you liked the line from Millay, Chance. I call her my romance novel poet because I loved her in my teens, but by the time I was in grad school admitting to a love for her poetry caused raised eyebrows and pitying looks (much like the response to saying I read romance novels). Now that I'm invulnerable to those responses, I am rediscovering Millay.
Ter, I listened to the clips from Terri Clark's CD. I have to have it. Her recut of "The One You Love" is a heartbreaker. And Wow! those lines--If you want fire / It better be worth the burn." Thanks.
You're welcome. And I only listened to that "If You Want Fire" song so far. Great stuff in there.
I happened to catch her new video last night and when I saw the name of the CD, I knew I had to tell you.
Back from another session with a counselor preparing for the return to college. So anyway, after a rather fun session of aptitude tests (kind of like therapy,a lot of ME, ME, ME time!) I've narrowed my interests down to...drum roll please...EVERYTHING. LOL
Hmmm, maybe I should be a writer. :) Actually, we pegged down a history major with, eventually, a library sciences masters down the road. Yes, I am going to be in school a long, long time. By the time I finish, I can work a year and retire. Ha ha. Nah, slight exaggeration. Speaking of life goals, life is (hopefully!) long. By the time I finish and will have to move (to places that actually have large libraries and museums and such), my son (now 7)will be about 12 or 13 I suppose.
This sounds good and ambitious right? lol But I'm REALLY going to school to be a better writer and learn a bunch of stuff for writing my characters and plots. I just won't tell my plan to the family, the "dear shits" as I picked up calling them yesterday. For them, I have a noble, life goal that I don't have to hide. So deep down, I'm just feeling sneaky. :)
Sneaky is a good thing! I say ya do what ya need ta get where ya want ta be. Long as ya don't hurt others. If it don't hurt the 'dear shits' to not know your deep down secret that it's all fodder for the novelist in you...then fine. They don't need ta know. The trick me not lying ta them that yer really lookin' forward ta being a history teacher...
Avoid the lyin', and yer golden.
I went on and off ta junior colleges here in CA, jus' takin' what interested me. And one day, I had a degree! Weee!
So...showin' me music ignorance...who is Terri Clark?
Janga - I'll have ta find me some Millay ta peruse. In my vast experience wit' lit classes in winding pursuit a' me degree... I took a poetry class. And met one a' the best teachers I ever knew. We clicked and I developed a love a' poetry. An American Lit teacher taught me Whitman... Zette taught me 'bout poetry.
And I recently brought 'er back inta me life by findin' her on Facebook!
Sigh. Don't ya hate the folks who look cross-eyed at ya when ya admit to love a' anythin' they don't understand!?
Yes, Chance, I'm all for sneaky, but I'm a rotten liar. :) No, I have no interest in teaching, which most (not all) history majors aim for. If not teaching, most other careers for a history major involved graduate work. Either that or having a double major combined with history. But when I looked at the options, finally, I just said, okay dream big. I told myself, do what you want. And I do see working in a library or, better yet, a museum as a dream job. I lived in Washington, DC for about 14 years, which was night and day compared to my life here in the wilds of northern Minnesota. This is where I need to be while my son is young though.
That's fantastic that you took classes in what interested you until you had the degree! I wish I would have done that, but no use trying to change, um, history. :)
Terri Clark is a country-western singer, Chance. :)
Arrrr! I be lookin' forward to tomorrow.
Talk ta Q - He tol' me 'bout a book that shows how ta build a time machine... He mus' be hung over from his b-day celebrations as 'e hasn't been back ta the ship... ;)
Aye, I were putterin' about wit' classes and suddenly...all I needed were one math class ta have a degree! Yes, Math. But I be blessed and found a wonderful algebra teacher...inspired me 'nuff that I took two classes from 'im! Jus' 'cause I liked his style a' teachin'.
I'm like ya, Melissa, I admire teachers greatly, but I'd make a piss poor one.
Tomorrow... I be wanderin' the Northern California Renaissance Faire. It be Pirate Invasion weekend, so I'll be wit' me brethren... Arrring all over the place!
So, if'n I knew how ta navigate YouTube, I could find this Terri Clark and listen ta 'er? See what Terrio and Janga be so excited 'bout?
Ah, yes - - The Math. I am intimidated by that requirement, but, as I've been told, there are lots of tutors available. Actually, as someone interested in EVERYTHING, if I do better than I expect in the algebra I hope to take more science classes.
Yes, I'm so darn excited to start now! But I have to wait now until January.
Oh! Wasn't Terri Clark the one who did a music video featuring the ship's very own Captain Jack Sparrow? :)
Melissa - Where in MN do ya live? Jane-o be in that state... Not too far from the Mall of America, but her city escapes me memory right now...
Oh, yeah, Girls Lie Too. Here's the link to the YouTube video, Chance. I thought as a Pirate you might need to have seen this or Jack might be upset. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqzu3Rgot1o
I'm waaaay up north, about 70 miles south of the Canadian border. It's a small town, population 312 with not a traffic light to be found. :) Your friend Jane-o lives nears the twin cities, about 300 miles south of me. The nearest "big" city to me is Bemidji, about 40 miles away where the college is and all the important stuff, Walmart, etc. LOL
I just knew where your friend was from the Mall of America clue. lol
Ah...well Jane-o just discovered the new job is going to be in So. Dakota, so it don't matter. She'll be on the road again inside a' month...
(Hee, hee. I was jus' conversin' with Terrio 'bout So. Dakota... Spooky!)
Winter here in Minnesota is legendary. I hate to think about it or I'll lose my good mood about fall! It's true, as several mentioned earlier that fall isn't mentioned nearly as much as winter in the historical romances.
In my novel, The Duke's Angel, much of it is set in winter. I don't know if it was more for the reason of giving the hero and heroine a chance to get very, very close or simply because it is such a familiar setting to me. I even had a winter wedding, but it was definitely not a true Minnesota winter or they would NOT have been leaving the church in an open carriage!
Okay, y'all have to let go of the "country and western" label. It's just country. No western anymore. :)
Terri is hit or miss, but she has some good stuff. She took some time off to take care of her ailing mother so this is her first CD for a while. Supposed to be very good. I'm looking forward to checking it out.
Thanks for posting the link!
Melissa - Come down from there?! Are you crazy? It's bloomin' cold up there!!!
Melissa, Yes, I am about 40 miles from Mall of America, I live north of St Paul, in North Branch right off I 35! I am very familiar with your area, well northern MN, My brothers have land on the canadian border and My youngest brother lives in Brainerd. So you are up there!!
OK, Melissa is me new favorite pirate... That be the sweetest/funniest music video I've set me eyes on fer a long, long time!
Did I say Terri were country western? Not me. She be country...but there be somethin' 'bout fem country that jus' resonates wit' me...
Are the country folk gonna be gunnin' fer me fer that designation?
Bring it on!
Terri, true Minnesotans are very proud of our state being the icebox of the country. Whether we like it? Hmm, I wonder, is it a coincidence that I seem to have met so many Minnesotans in other parts of the country? Is it possible they MOVED? lol I spent last winter in the relatively warmer state of Virginia - your neck of the woods, I believe?
But the people here are nice. Minnesota nice, right Jane? :)
Chance, glad you enjoyed the video. That's an older one, but definitely appropriate for this ship!
Well, me favorite MN-an is Jane... And she be very nice.
Minnesota, you betya. :)
Rip me jib, it be THE day of ALL days!! Ahar! Sailor's delight. May I be damned, eyes and liver if it ain't a balm to me soul to be on the Revenge wit such a devilish lot on this day.
Sluice the ivories, drink deep and drink oft. Rum fer all and all fer rum!
I wish I could get in there with you, Kathy. LOL! But I'm in revise mode, trying not to jump off the pier, and do not have the brain power to pull off the pirate speak.
I will say AAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH! And trust me, I say that with feeling!
Good luck on the revisions, Terrio! Gooooooooo, write!
Or is that goooooooooooooooooooooooo Revise!
The pirates be sadly lackin' at the RenFaire this fine day. Sigh. Not sure why, save it may be the mini heat wave we be experienin'... Hard ta get inta the garb on such a warmish day.
Kathy! Avast ta ye! And happy p'rate speak be yorn taday!
Did meet a pirate author at the faire. She be sellin' a book she wrote on the fair Anne Bonney. I'll read it and let the crew know what I think... I invited her ta come check out the ship...
Take a scabbard to it, Terrio!! Make your characters walk the plank. Order that book to acquiese to your will. Hoist your plot to the mainsail and watch it glide upon smooth waters.
In other words, I be wishin' ye luck, Terrio. :)
Thank ye much, me mateys. I manage to flog the chapters into submission, but nows I gots ta face the synopsis. This could get ugly.
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